2012 L.A. Auto Show invites design studios from around the world to compete in the ninth annual Design Challenge: Highway Patrol Vehicle - 2025
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The
pace of change in society accelerates every year, with breakthrough
technologies and rapidly developing countries constantly rewriting the
rules in a global economy. How this translates into life on the road for
the general public is open to interpretation, but for law enforcement,
it is a mission-critical assignment. To better patrol our roads and
effectively "protect and serve," the future highway patrol vehicle will
have to be designed with an entirely new set of considerations,
including advanced powertrains, alternative fuels, telemetrics and new
sizes to effectively navigate dynamic urban environment.
 This
year's Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge asks a highly competitive
field of major auto manufacturer design studios, from the U.S., Germany
and Japan, to solve this puzzle and create the ultimate law enforcement
patrol vehicle for the year 2025. So far, design studios from Bentley,
BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai and Subaru have accepted the
challenge to use their innovation and insight to explore creative
solutions as they contend for this annual design honor.
"One
of the most difficult yet important tasks in design is looking into the
future to envision and create the trends and tools that haven't been
imagined," said Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner
in The Design Academy, Inc. "Adding the element of law enforcement to
this year's competition creates another layer of importance that makes a
challenge equal to the level of our participants."
The
winning design will be announced Nov. 29 during an event at the LA Auto
Show Press Days. Judging criteria will be based upon various factors
including: consideration of future needs for advanced technology, speed
and agility on future freeway systems; creativity of the solution;
meeting a specific region's emission standards; and environmental
sensitivity, including maintenance and recyclability. All entries will
be unveiled online at LAautoshow.com in early November.
Entries
will be judged by Tom Matano, executive director, School of Industrial
Design at San Francisco's Academy of Art University; Imre Molnar,
provost and chief academic officer at Detroit's College for Creative
Studies; and Stewart Reed, chair of Transportation Design at Pasadena's
Art Center College of Design. This year's guest judge, Bruce Meyer, is a
board member of the California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation, which provides
emergency benefits to CHP employees and the members of their families
in times of crisis. Mr. Meyer is perhaps better known as a high-profile collector, former racer and past chairman of the Petersen Automotive Museum.
The Design Challenge is sponsored by Faurecia,
the world's sixth-largest automotive supplier specializing in
automotive seating, emissions control technologies, interior systems and
auto exteriors, as well as Yokohama Tire,
which works closely with auto manufacturers in the U.S., Europe and
Japan to develop tires for the latest concept vehicles. Other sponsors
that make Design Los Angeles possible include, Dassault Systemes, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA) and Lacks Enterprises.
About the Design Challenge
The
Design Challenge takes place annually during the LA Auto Show Press
Days, Nov. 28-29, 2012. For each of the past nine years, a new Design
Challenge theme is chosen and the major automotive design studios
showcase their talents, competing against one another to further explore
new ideas in automotive design. The LA Auto Show Press Days hosts the
largest gathering of design professionals in North America for a variety
of design-focused activities including a Designers' Night party that
brings together design industry leaders from around the world.
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